The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Would regulating prostitution like a business be a good idea? A landmark study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice raises that age-old, vexing question. What emerges from the analysis of the commercial sex trade in eight American cities is an industry with mostly willing buyer/willing seller transactions, albeit with highly coercive management – suggesting that though prostitution may always be immoral it might be less damaging if legal.

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

In “The Death of Money,” author James Rickards sees a world of reasons for the dollar to crash and the world monetary system to collapse. The greenback does indeed have dangerous adversaries, from China to al Qaeda. However, Rickards lets the Federal Reserve and budget deficits off too lightly as generators of trouble, and his solutions would cause yet more havoc.

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

In “The Death of Money,” author James Rickards sees a world of reasons for the dollar to crash and the world monetary system to collapse. The greenback does indeed have dangerous adversaries, from China to al Qaeda. However, Rickards lets the Federal Reserve and budget deficits off too lightly as generators of trouble, and his solutions would cause yet more havoc.

By Martin HutchinsonThe author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

America is a minimum-wage laggard – at least relative to its economic prosperity. With Washington considering a higher pay floor and Peru’s prime minister losing his job over the issue, a Breakingviews analysis shows that minimum wages as a percentage of local income levels are still low in the United States and, for instance, in neighboring Mexico.

By Martin HutchinsonThe author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

America is a minimum-wage laggard – at least relative to its economic prosperity. With Washington considering a higher pay floor and Peru’s prime minister losing his job over the issue, a Breakingviews analysis shows that minimum wages as a percentage of local income levels are still low in the United States and, for instance, in neighboring Mexico.

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Of all the countries in the world currently undergoing serious unrest, Venezuela’s problems look the easiest to resolve. It’s just economics. Broadly speaking, Ukraine’s rupture is ethnic, Thailand’s regional and Syria’s religious. By contrast, Venezuela is ethnically and religiously united. It even has oil wealth. But high inequality and growing chaos bedevil the Latin American nation – problems that can be alleviated even without wrenching political upheaval.

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Of all the countries in the world currently undergoing serious unrest, Venezuela’s problems look the easiest to resolve. It’s just economics. Broadly speaking, Ukraine’s rupture is ethnic, Thailand’s regional and Syria’s religious. By contrast, Venezuela is ethnically and religiously united. It even has oil wealth. But high inequality and growing chaos bedevil the Latin American nation – problems that can be alleviated even without wrenching political upheaval.

By Martin HutchinsonThe author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Legalizing marijuana should provide a lift to the Uruguay economy but there’s scope for it to get even higher. The South American country is the first to legalize marijuana trade, with production from cooperatives, sales to locals only and prices fixed. The Dutch did well from cannabis tourism, but agribusiness could ultimately be the winner in Uruguay.

My Martin HutchinsonThe author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Nelson Mandela, who has died aged 95, was a rare and brave leader. But economically he was, ironically enough, too timid. He set post-apartheid South Africa on course toward a mostly free market economy with stable finances, avoiding the errors of others like neighboring Zimbabwe. But he left the country slow-growing and still suffering from inequality.

About Martin

"Martin Hutchinson is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist and writes about emerging markets, particularly in Latin America, and monetary and macroeconomic issues. He is a former merchant/investment banker with 27 years of experience."